Talk about your bitter-clingers: "Crazy Larry" O'Donnell just can't give up on the notion that Michael Brown might have had his hands up. On today's Morning Joe, it led to a nasty little spat with Joe Scarborough. Joe asked Jeff Roorda of the St. Louis Police Officers Association whether, "since Eric Holder agreed with your side of the story," he had received an apology from the St. Louis Rams for the "hands up, don't shoot" display by several of its players.
O'Donnell interrupted to claim that "Eric Holder doesn't agree with the officers' side of the story." According to O'Donnell, the report merely found that "hands-up" couldn't be proved "beyond reasonable doubt." The spat was on, culminating with O'Donnell condescendingly telling Scarborough "understand what reasonable doubt is." That led to Scarborough's saracastic "thank you so much for giving me a lecture on the law."
For the record, O'Donnell was wrong. It's not as if the report found that the preponderance of the evidence pointed to Brown having his hands up, but fell short of the higher, beyond-all-reasonable-doubt standard. To the contrary, the report found that evidence of "hand-up" was flawed and questionable.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Hey Jeff, thanks for being with us. I'm just curious: have the St. Louis Rams contacted you guys and apologized since Eric Holder agreed with your side of the story?
JEFF ROORDA: They have not. I stand by the phone every day waiting for that call.
SCARBOROUGH: Why wouldn't the St. Louis Rams apologize?
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: Eric Holder doesn't agree with the officers' side of the story. Eric Holder's report says they didn't see that they could make a case beyond a reasonable doubt that would get a conviction.
SCARBOROUGH: Actually, what they said was that neither the -- the testimony, that said that he had his hands up was not credible and also --
O'DONNELL: Beyond a reasonable doubt.
ROORDA: The conclusion was irrefutable that he's not guilty.
SCARBOROUGH: Also the forensic evidence -- that the forensic evidence did not show that he had his hands up in the air.
O'DONNELL: Did not prove it. Did not prove it. It did not disprove it.
SCARBOROUGH: It did not support the story, and you know --
O'DONNELL: Understand what reasonable doubt is.
SCARBOROUGH: You know what? Here we go. Thank you so much for giving me a lecture on the law.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Boys. Jeff Roorda, thank you so much.
